Bad Weekend for Car Salesmen

A 2011 Dodge, speeding and swerving on Main Street and then on Woods Lane in East Hampton, was pulled over a little after midnight Sunday, leading to the arrest of a Patchogue man, 22-year-old Anthony E. Cavuoto, on a charge of driving while intoxicated. East Hampton Village police said Mr. Cavuoto was going 55 miles per hour in a 30 m.p.h. zone.
The driver, who reportedly failed roadside sobriety tests, told police he had had “several beers” earlier. Back at Cedar Street headquarters, his breath test produced a reading of .18, over twice the legal limit, resulting in a more serious charge of aggravated D.W.I.
Mr. Cavuoto told police he was a car salesman, as did another man charged with drunken driving over the weekend, Jordan M. Leventhal of Manhattan, who was charged a little before 4 a.m. on Sunday when an officer spotted his 2007 BMW swerving on Pantigo Road. The officer wrote in his report that Mr. Leventhal “stated that he was swerving because he was having a fight with his male passenger, over the radio.”
Believing that the driver might be intoxicated, police asked him to take the sobriety tests, which he allegedly failed. He was then asked to take a roadside breath test, at which point he “did not cooperate,” police said. He was taken back to Cedar Street, where he said he wanted to call a lawyer before consenting to take the Intoxilyzer breath test. After more than half an hour, unable to reach a lawyer and still refusing to take the test, Mr. Leventhal was told he would be processed as having refused it, meaning that his license would automatically be suspended.
At his arraignment later that morning he told Justice Lisa Rana that “I come out here most weekends.” His attorney for the arraignment, Rita Bonnicelli of the Brill Legal Group, argued that Mr. Leventhal was not a flight risk, and Justice Rana agreed, setting him free without bail but with a future date in court.
A car with California plates, parked in the middle of North Main Street at daybreak on Saturday, led to a charge of D.W.I. against a woman who recently relocated to East Hampton.
Diana K. Gomez, 35, was questioned by an East Hampton Town police officer who reported that her car was obstructing traffic near Miller Terrace. The officer reported that she displayed the symptoms of drunkenness that the police are trained to look for: slurred speech, glassy, bloodshot eyes, and the smell of alcohol on the breath.
Back at the Wainscott station, having reportedly failed the roadside sobriety tests, she submitted to the Intoxilyzer test, which produced a reading of .11, three points over the legal limit. She spent a few hours in a cell before being arraigned, at which time she told Justice Rana she had just moved here from California and was living with friends and family while working as a waitress in an East Hampton restaurant.
Three of her friends were in court to support her. Bail was set at $350.
A deer running across Hands Creek Road in East Hampton shortly after midnight Saturday caused a driver, Christian G. Farez-Guazhambo of East Hampton, to swerve sharply, he told town police, and his 2003 Chevrolet ended up against a tree near Oakview Highway. Officers who found him standing next to the wrecked car suspected him to be intoxicated, and reported that he failed sobriety tests. He was additionally charged with aggravated unlicensed driving.
He took the breath test at headquarters, with a reading recorded at .14.
“You have some open tickets in this court from 2012,” Justice Rana told him in court that morning after he asked why his license was suspended.
Mr. Farez-Guazhambo told the justice he was a carpenter by trade. Several members of his family were in the courtroom, as was his employer. When Justice Rana set bail at $350, family members told her they would post it.
A Greenwich Village woman with a blown-out rear license plate light on her 2004 red Jeep was stopped at about 4 a.m. Friday on Montauk Highway in Montauk, and ended up facing a charge of D.W.I. Briana N. Santos, 25, failed field sobriety tests, police said.
Ms. Santos told Justice Rana she’d just come to Montauk to work for the season as a server at a local restaurant. The justice released her without bail, but with a future date in court.
Charles P. Limonius, 55, of East Hampton was similarly charged at 9:30 p.m. on May 14 after being pulled over for speeding on Route 114 in East Hampton near Goodfriend Drive. His 2011 BMW was going 61 m.p.h., 16 miles over the limit, according to police, and he reportedly failed roadside sobriety tests. Justice Rana released him without bail the next morning, with a future court date.

About the Author

T.E. McMorrow began freelancing for The Star in 2009, before coming on staff, full time, at the end of 2011. He is a member of the Drama Desk in New York. His book, “The Nutcracker in Harlem,” illustrated by James Ransome, is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2017 by HarperCollins children’s division.